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Brief Summary Of The Historic Novel 'My Brother Sam Is Dead'

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My Brother Sam is Dead Informative/ Explanatory Essay

What would you do if your family got torn apart by war? In the Historic novel, My Brother Sam is Dead, a fifteen year old boy, Tim, has to live with his family getting torn apart by war. Tim comes from a Tory family, and when Sam, Tim’s older brother, joins the Patriots in fighting the Tories, the family is shocked. The authors, James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, convey the message about family values being more important than anything, through the use of different literary elements: Internal conflict, External conflict, and Irony. Throughout the story, Tim faced internal conflict as he struggled with the decision of whether to join his father in supporting the Tories or fighting them with Sam. For example, Tim says to Sam in a moment of desperation, ”Don’t come any closer, Sam, or I’ll …show more content…

For example, Tim idolizes his brother but also wants to be better than him, as said in the quote, “I remember being little and watching Sam milk Old Pru and admiring him and thinking how clever he was. And then it got to be my turn to learn how… and I found out that there wasn't any glory to it; it was just hard work and made your hands ache… But still, I envied Sam, and I wished I were old enough to do something glorious, too.” Collier and Collier 64. This shows that Tim is envious of his brother, but also wants to impress him. It doesn’t matter what Sam is doing, Tim wants to do it too. Additionally, Tim has conflict with Sam when he says, “Don’t come any closer, Sam, or I’ll shoot you.” This shows the sibling rivalry between Sam and Tim, but also shows Tim’s weakness when it comes to his brother. Tim’s loyalty to his father along with the sibling rivalry with his brother, Tim has a hard time getting along with Sam. Through Tim’s admiration of Sam, and Tim’s rivalry with Sam, external conflict is

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